Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Here’s What’s Going on with Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

I
was super excited when I found out that Seven
Stones to Stand or Fall was coming out and hit the pre-order button as soon
as Amazon offered it. When it finally arrived, I was thrilled—happy Snoopy
dance thrilled! Seriously, I do love a hardcover book.

Although
while I’ve been over the moon about it, I’ve been noticing a lot of questions
in our Outlander Reading Challenge group about what this book is, so I thought
I’d take a minute or two and write up a blog post to breakdown what this book
is. Keep in mind this isn’t a review as the only book I’ve read in it thus far
is Virgins, it’s just a what’s what about the book.

The
following short stories and novella are listed as they appear in Seven Stone to Stand or Fall.

The Custom of the Army (Lord
John Grey 2.75)—London,
1759. After a high society electric-eel party leads to a duel that ends badly,
Lord John Grey feels the need to lie low for a while. Conveniently, before
starting his new commission in His Majesty’s army, Lord John receives an urgent
summons. An old friend from the military, Charlie Carruthers, is facing
court-martial in Canada, and has called upon Lord John to serve as his
character witness. Grey voyages to the New World—a land rife with savages (many
of them on his own side) and cleft by war—where he soon finds that he must
defend not only his friend’s life but his own.

The Space Between
(Outlander 7.5)—Joan MacKimmie
is on her way to Paris to take up her vocation as a nun. Yet her decision is
less a matter of faith than fear, for Joan is plagued by mysterious voices that
speak of the future, and by visions that mark those about to die. The sanctuary
of the nunnery promises respite from these unwanted visitations . . . or so she
prays. Her chaperone is Michael Murray, a young widower who, though he still
mourns the death of his wife, finds himself powerfully drawn to his charge. But
when the time-traveling Comte St. Germain learns of Joan’s presence in Paris,
and of her link to Claire Fraser—La Dame Blanche—Murray is drawn into a battle
whose stakes are not merely the life but the very soul of the Scotswoman who,
without even trying, has won his heart.

The Plague of Zombies(Lord John Grey #3.5)—Lord John Grey, a lieutenant-colonel in
His Majesty’s army, arrives in Jamaica with orders to quash a slave rebellion
brewing in the mountains. But a much deadlier threat lies close at hand. The
governor of the island is being menaced by zombies, according to a servant.
Lord John has no idea what a zombie is, but it doesn’t sound good. It sounds
even worse when hands smelling of grave dirt come out of the darkness to take
him by the throat. Between murder in the governor’s mansion and plantations
burning in the mountains, Lord John will need the wisdom of serpents and the
luck of the devil to keep the island from exploding.

A Leaf on the Wind of All
Hallows (Outlander 8.5)—Orphaned during
World War II, Roger believed that his mother died during the London Blitz, and
that his father, an RAF pilot, was killed in combat. But in An Echo in the
Bone, Roger discovers that this may not be the whole story. Now, in “A Leaf on
the Wind of All Hallows,” readers finally learn the truth.

Virgins (Outlander
0.5) Read My Review—Mourning
the death of his father and gravely injured at the hands of the English, Jamie
Fraser finds himself running with a band of mercenaries in the French
countryside, where he reconnects with his old friend Ian Murray. Both are
nursing wounds; both have good reason to stay out of Scotland; and both are
still virgins, despite several opportunities to remedy that deplorable
situation with ladies of easy virtue. But Jamie’s love life becomes infinitely
more complicated—and dangerous—when fate brings the young men into the service
of Dr. Hasdi, a Jewish gentleman who hires them to escort two priceless
treasures to Paris. One is an old Torah; the other is the doctor’s beautiful
daughter, Rebekah, destined for an arranged marriage. Both Jamie and Ian are
instantly drawn to the bride-to-be—but they might be more cautious if they had
any idea who they’re truly dealing with.

The following
novellas are brand-new and only in Seven
Stones to Stand or Fall.

A Fugitive Green (Lord
John Grey 0.5) is the story of Lord John’s elder brother, Hal, and
a seventeen-year-old rare book dealer with a sideline in theft, forgery, and
blackmail.

Besieged (Lord
John Grey 3.5) Lord
John learns that his mother is in Havana—and that the British Navy is on their
way to lay siege to the city.

Here
is the order the novellas/shorts (in red) found in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (fit into the Outlander and Lord John
Timeline.

Virgins—Outlander
novella featuring Jamie Fraser

The
Exile—Outlander graphic novel

Outlander—novel

Dragonfly
in Amber—novel

A Fugitive Green—Lord John Grey
novella (Jamie Fraser appears) only in Seven Stones to Stand of Fall.

Voyager—novel

Lord
John and the Hellfire Club—novella found in Lord John and the Hand of Devils

Lord
John and the Private Matter—novel

Lord
John and the Succubus—novella found in Lord John and the Hand of Devils

Lord
John and the Brother of the Blade—novel

Lord
John and the Haunted Solider—novella found in Lord John and the Hand of Devils